Pocket calculators continue to sell despite the rise of AI

The humble pocket calculator may not be able to keep up with the mathematical capabilities of new technology, but it will never hallucinate.

- KATIE FORSTER WATSAMON TRI-YASAKDA

The device’s enduring reliability equates to millions of sales each year for Japan's Casio, which is even eyeing expansion in certain regions.

Despite lightning-speed advances in artificial intelligence, chatbots still sometimes stumble on basic addition.

In contrast, “calculators always give the correct answer,” Casio executive Tomoaki Sato told AFP.

But he conceded that calculators could one day go the way of the abacus.

“It’s undeniable that the market for personal calculators used in business is on a downward trend,” Mr Sato said in Tokyo.

Smartphones and web browsers can handle everyday sums, while AI models achieved gold-level scores for the first time this year at a prestigious global maths contest.

But calculators are more affordable than phones and run on batteries and solar power — a plus for schools in developing countries, a potential growth area for Casio, Mr Sato said.

And people who do buy calculators prefer the way they feel, he argued.